Event to tackle Female Genital Mutilation a success (14 Aug 2015)

A West Yorkshire-wide partnership event to help tackle Female
Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been hailed a success.

The event was organised by the West Yorkshire Police and Crime
Commissioner, Mark Burns-Williamson, and was the first time that
statutory and community partners from across the county had come
together to discuss work to prevent FGM and how best to support
victims.

The event consisted of statutory and voluntary agencies and
partners from across the county and beyond, including the police,
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), local government, NHS and many
from the Third Sector.

During the event a range of people spoke out and the performance
of the Leeds Young Authors, who staged a moving input around FGM,
had a huge impact. They were brought to the event by the charity
Black Health Initiative.
Mark Burns-Williamson, said:

"FGM is a terrible crime and the excellent and moving performance
by Leeds Young Authors really helped to concentrate people's minds
on what victims go through.

"I would also like to thank everyone else who played their part
during the day and helped to make sure the event was a great
success. It has helped to not only raise awareness of the issue but
also saw various different organisations coming together and
sharing their knowledge and expertise. Only by working together can
we make a real difference.

"FGM is a crime and one that is thought to be very much under
reported nationwide. Raising awareness of the issue is an important
aspect in helping to prevent it and to understand the true scale
and nature of it.

"The partnership event was to help raise awareness but to also see
what we can all do and where we can work together - only by working
together can we make a real difference and aim to educate as many
people as possible about it.

Assistant Chief Constable Russ Foster of West Yorkshire Police,
said: "It is vital that events such as this highlight and raise
awareness of this illegal practice which is totally unacceptable
and that partners do everything they can to tackle it."